Israel says it’s retreating from Lebanon by a Tuesday ceasefire deadline, but named five spots inside the country where soldiers will remain, drawing protest from the Lebanese government.

Most ground troops have already returned to Israel after handing over to the Lebanese Armed Forces, as per the truce deal agreed with militant group Hezbollah in November. Yet forces will remain in lookout positions across the border from northern Israeli communities of Shlomi, Zarit, Shtula, Avivim and Metula, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Nadav Shoshani said in a briefing on Monday.

“These are points that are very close to the border and have access in and out,” said Shoshani. He described the measure as reversible once Israel is reassured that its Lebanese counterpart is in full control.

“It is something we are committed to doing in the right way, in a gradual way, in a way that the security of our civilians is kept,” IDF’s spokesman said.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has voiced opposition to the delayed withdrawal, at a time when he faces calls to dispel Iranian-backed Hezbollah’s legitimacy and reaffirm the government as the one holding the right to keep out foreign occupiers. Aoun’s government is the first to be elected in the country in more than two years.

Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer said in an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday that Israel would retain five strategic high points just inside Lebanon until truce commitments are completed. He didn’t detail a time-line for a full pullout, but it’s unlikely that disarming Hezbollah and preventing it building back up will be accomplished quickly.

In a U.S.-brokered deal signed in November, Israel agreed to pull out from Lebanon within 60 days, on the condition that Hezbollah, the most powerful of Iran’s proxy groups, be disarmed and kept from striking communities along the shared border. The deadline was later extended to Feb. 18 after Israel accused Hezbollah of not cooperating.

Civilians on both sides of the border were evacuated after Hezbollah began rocket and drone strikes into Israel following the start of the war in Gaza, in October 2023. Israel’s retaliatory ground incursion in southern Lebanon last year — which led to thousands of casualties — made the border area even more dangerous.

Shoshani said displaced Lebanese civilians can now return to homes in areas relinquished by the Israeli army, though he cautioned against approaching soldiers in a manner that could be perceived as threatening. During the truce, Israeli forces have at times opened fire on what they described as suspected militia movements.

Hezbollah began shelling Israel a day after its Palestinian ally Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Both Hezbollah and Hamas are designated terrorist groups by the US and many other countries.

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